Rice, 55, was a guest on Adam Schefter’s podcast and said, with tongue possibly in cheek, that he would come back to play in the league in a “heartbeat,” even though he’s been retired for more than a decade. Rice played for the 49ers from 1985-2000, the Raiders from 2001-2004 and the Seattle Seahawks for the final 11 weeks of the 2004 regular season and one playoff game before he hung them up.

Rice finished his career with a staggering 1,549 receptions for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns.

Advertisement

Schefter asked Rice if he feels the wear-and-tear on his body after playing in the NFL for 20 seasons.

“Guys, you would not believe I’m probably in the best shape of my life right now,” Rice said. “I’m still active, I’m still able to go out.”

Rice relayed how he practiced with the 49ers during training camp in mid-August where he ran routes in warmup drills and offered tips to young receivers.

“The players couldn’t believe at the age of, I was 54 at the time, they couldn’t believe that I could still get out there and run routes and have that endurance,” Rice said. “It had a lot to do with my hard work, my commitment, and the love of the game and just wanting to go out there and play football, week-in and week-out.”

Putting one up on a tee for Rice, Schefter asked, “You could play today, right?”

“I was joking around with (Raiders coach) Jon Gruden about this because I told him, I said, ‘Jon, look, I still got about 80 catches in me.’ And he was like, ‘Don’t joke with me, ’cause you know, we’ll seriously sign you back to the team.’

“But, you know what, I played it for over 20 years. It’s a whole different game now. It’s more of a passer game now and it’s the ideal situation for wide receivers.”

What if Gruden was serious about signing him, Rice was asked.

“I would be on the football field in a heartbeat,” Rice said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t even give it a second thought because I played it for over 20 years and I still think I played it the right way because I was like a little kid on the football field.

“To be able to impact so many lives and touch so many people, I think it made everything worthwhile.”